Independent brain exam ordered for Jahi McMath

Judge appoints independent doctor - family, supporters rally for girl

Updated 7:33 pm, Monday, December 23, 2013

Makhai McMath, 8, the sister of Jahi McMath, attends a rally for the brain-dead girl near Children's Hospital Oakland.

Makhai McMath, 8, the sister of Jahi McMath, attends a rally for the brain-dead girl near Children's Hospital Oakland.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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Nailah Winkfield, mother of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, cries before a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at the Children's Hospital Oakland after doctors declared her brain dead following a routine tonsillectomy procedure. A judge on Monday appoints Dr. Paul Fisher, Chief of Pediatric Neurology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, to determine whether Jahi is legally dead as the family members continue to fight to keep McMath on life support. less

Nailah Winkfield, mother of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, cries before a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at the Children's Hospital Oakland after doctors ... more

Photo: Stephen Lam, Special To The Chronicle

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Family members of 13-year-old Oakland teen Jahi McMath are holding out hope for a miracle recovery after a routine procedure has left the girl brain dead.

Family members of 13-year-old Oakland teen Jahi McMath are holding out hope for a miracle recovery after a routine procedure has left the girl brain dead.

Photo: CBS San Francisco

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LaVonte Thompson, 16, who says he is a close friend of Jahi McMath, rallies for the girl, who was declared brain-dead after surgery.

LaVonte Thompson, 16, who says he is a close friend of Jahi McMath, rallies for the girl, who was declared brain-dead after surgery.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

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Attorney Christopher Dolan says the family believes that Jahi McMath is alive.

Attorney Christopher Dolan says the family believes that Jahi McMath is alive.

The wrenching case of an Oakland girl declared brain-dead by doctors and a family unwilling to accept the diagnosis tumbled into a courtroom Monday, where a judge sought the help of an independent physician to weigh in on the unusual battle.

The parents of 13-year-old Jahi McMath were given at least another week before Children's Hospital Oakland will be allowed to take their daughter off a ventilator. Alameda County Judge Evelio Grillo extended a restraining order prohibiting the hospital from making any moves until Monday.

Jahi was declared brain-dead Dec. 12 after tonsil-removal surgery, but her parents do not believe she is dead.

Jahi's mother, Nailah Winkfield, who wore a T-shirt to Monday's hearing bearing a picture of her daughter and herself, and periodically dabbed her eyes, said she believes her daughter "wants to live." God, she has said, will "spark her brain awake."

The independent physician was to examine the girl Monday afternoon at the hospital, then deliver the results Tuesday morning in court. The doctor, Paul Fisher, chief of neurology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, must determine whether he agrees that Jahi is brain-dead under state law.

"The family believes she is alive," Dolan said. "It is our position that no doctor can make a determination about end of life without parental consent."

Also at the hearing was David Durand, chief of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Oakland. He said afterward that he and his colleagues are "very sorry about the complications that led to the death of Jahi. We are looking forward to the examination by Dr. Fisher. Our hearts go out to the family at this very, very difficult time."

In a statement, he added that "the ventilator cannot reverse the brain death that has occurred and it would be wrong to give false hope that Jahi will ever come back to life."

Supporters rally

The hospital said the family's contention that people have recovered from brain death is wrong.

As the hearing went on, supporters of the family staged a march starting outside the hospital. They chanted, "Keep Jahi alive."

The girl was declared brain-dead three days after she had surgery to deal with sleep apnea.

The hospital said Jahi's tonsils and adenoids were removed, along with excess tissue from her throat and nose. The girl's family said that she seemed fine coming out of surgery but that blood started coming out of her nose and mouth, and she went into cardiac arrest. Jahi has been on a ventilator since.

Doctors back finding

On Thursday, Children's Hospital told the girl's family it intended to withdraw the ventilator and any other medical support, prompting the family to obtain the restraining order.

Attorneys for the hospital cited California law, which states that doctors must make a "determination of death" if a person sustains "irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain."

The law requires "independent confirmation by another physician." Children's Hospital said it had two in-house physicians examine Jahi and brought in three independent doctors at the family's request, with each one confirming the diagnosis of brain death.

State law also requires that a hospital provide families with a "reasonably brief period of accommodation" between a finding of brain death and the discontinuing of mechanical support, giving relatives a chance to gather at the patient's bedside.

While a hospital must make "reasonable efforts" to accommodate religious practices, it must also "consider the needs of other patients and prospective patients in urgent need of care," the law states.

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